Bursa Malaysia opens firmer

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares on Bursa Malaysia opened higher in early trade today, buoyed by positive sentiment as trade war worries took a back seat and lifted risk appetite globally, dealers said.
At 9.03am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 5.07 points firmer at 1,677.7 from Monday's close of 1,672.63.
The barometer index was opened 2.42 points better at 1,675.05.
Maybank IB Research said the local market might extend yesterday's gains to today after Wall Street rallied, amid expectations of a robust earnings season.
In a note, it also said oil and gas stocks could benefit from firmer oil prices.
"Technically, we expect the FBM KLCI to trade between 1,680 and 1,720 today. Downside supports are at 1,658 and 1,630," the research house said.
Crude-oil benchmarks steadied on Monday, with Brent up 40 cents to US$77.51 a barrel, as traders fretted over production disruptions in Libya and Venezuela and expectations for big declines in Iranian exports.
An increase in US drilling, which is likely to lead to higher shale production, also helped balance sentiment over the tight supply.
Among heavyweights, Maybank and CIMB rose five sen each to RM9.13 and RM5.35 respectively, Tenaga and Petronas Chemicals edged up eight sen each to RM14.38 and RM8.59, while Public Bank gained four sen to RM22.58.
Among actives, YTL Corp and Top Glove bagged two sen each to RM1.16 and 9.15 respectively, while Nova MSC inched up half-a-sen to 19 sen.
MISC topped the biggest gainers board after rising 15 sen to RM6.06 with 7,200 shares changing hands, while KLK was the biggest loser in declining 36 sen to RM23.76.
The FBM Emas Index increased 31.38 points to 11,829.59, the FBMT100 Index advanced 32.78 points to 11,631.23 and the FBM70 was 26.89 points better at 14,350.02.
The FBM Emas Syariah Index improved 26.39 points to 11,954.8 and the FBM Ace Index was up 18.31 points at 5,250.92.
Sector-wise, the Finance Index chalked up 53.31 points to 16,486.16, the Industrial Index gained 17.71 points to 3,118.11, but the Plantation Index lost 17.48 points to 7,434.95.
On the broader market, gainers led losers 135 to 52, while 113 counters were unchanged, 1,568 untraded and 19 others suspended.
Volume stood at 46.43 million units valued at RM46.9 million.
The physical price of gold as at 9.30am stood at RM157.48 per gramme, down 73 sen from RM158.21 at 5.00pm yesterday. — Bernama